AT&T to Offer Standard Insurance for iPhone Starting July 17th

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AT&T has informed customers that the iPhone (all models) will be eligible for their Mobile Insurance program starting on July 17th. AT&T's mobile insurance program offers protection against loss, theft, accidental physical or liquid damage and mechanical and/or electrical failure. The program costs $4.99/month and a $50 or $125 deductible for each claim depending on the particular model.

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*Please Note: AT&T Mobile Insurance Update: Effective July 17, 2011, the Apple iPhone (all models) will be eligible for coverage with the AT&T Mobile Insurance program (formerly Wireless Phone Insurance). Enrollment restrictions apply. Customers can only enroll within 30 days of a new activation or upgrade, prior activations or upgrades outside of 30 days are not eligible.

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AT&T has long treated iPhones differently than other devices on their network when it comes to insurance. The original iPhone was unable to be insured at all from AT&T. Then in 2010, AT&T partnered with an external company to offer more expensive coverage for the iPhone at $11.99/month and $199 deductible.

The choice of getting any insurance at all is always up for debate -- especially since Apple is known to replace accidentally broken and out-of-warranty iPhones for a flat $199 repair fee, though this doesn't cover loss or theft.

macrumors newbie

If it's the same kind of deal as the one T-Mobile offers through a third party here in Austria, you're wasting your money. The terms are such that it's virtually impossible to get any money out of them. The only good thing about the experience was that Apple provided a new phone at a lower price than list. As for mobile phone companies, they're not exactly ranking high on my list of respected companies.

macrumors 604

If it's the same kind of deal as the one T-Mobile offers through a third party here in Austria, you're wasting your money. The terms are such that it's virtually impossible to get any money out of them. The only good thing about the experience was that Apple provided a new phone at a lower price than list. As for mobile phone companies, they're not exactly ranking high on my list of respected companies.

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really? i got mine with the t-mobile insurance here in germany and a friend of mine got his iPhone 4 replaced 2 times already with no problem (after someone else dropped it and another time it got covered in vodka). my battery also started to suck and it was full of scratches so i threw it on the floor and got a new one within a week

I use to work at Asurion which ATT is most likely using for the iPhone. It's a complete scam and I highly recommend not getting this. That said, I was the one doing fraud detection for the company and the best response to always say is that you dropped it in the lake.

macrumors newbie

I just added my iPhone's and iPad as a rider to my homeowners insurance. Probably costs me $20 bucks a yr and if I loose or render any device inoperable they will replace it, and there's no deductable. A lot better than the $12+ a month Verizon wants to charge.

macrumors 68000

macrumors G4

I use to work at Asurion which ATT is most likely using for the iPhone. It's a complete scam and I highly recommend not getting this. That said, I was the one doing fraud detection for the company and the best response to always say is that you dropped it in the lake.

This means it's completely unrecoverable by any means.

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How do they scam people?

That being said I know it is generally a bad deal over all. The biggest thing is the piece of mind it provides people and how it is generally a pretty painless process to get the phone replaced.

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macrumors regular

Only good this is that it covers lost phones. @ 4.99/mo you'll pay ~$120 for the insurance itself (for 24 months) and likely another $125 deductible if you have the latest phone. Net cost is ~$245 vs. apple $199.

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